1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device that simultaneously shapes and consolidates multiple plies of composite fabrics or other material to be formed or preformed, while maintaining fiber orientation and registration of the ply surface.
2. Background of the Related Art
There is a general need in the art of preforming to have multiple plies or other similar materials accurately indexed with no ply distortion in a complex geometry.
In the prior art, individuals would lay-up each ply on a mold, attempting to eliminate distortion by hand, while working out wrinkles as best as possible. Quality depends on the operator and is limited, for example, by finger pressure applied. Among other things, problems exist with operator variation and capabilities to eliminate distortion, as well as the cost in time spent manually laying up individual plies, while maintaining proper orientation.